WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
- How small changes (think: tiny modals) can lead to massive growth
- The key to balancing experimentation with intuition (spoiler: don’t overdo it)
- How to use psychological insights like loss aversion to boost conversions
Sometimes, the biggest wins come from the smallest changes. In this playbook, Sophia dives into how tiny adjustments can have a huge impact on product growth, why experimenting is great (but not everything), and how to tap into user psychology for more effective strategies. Get ready to learn from the PLG expert who knows a thing or two about scaling teams and driving results.
THE EXPERT
Sophia Friend is a product leader with over 10 years of experience driving growth and building high-performing teams across both B2B and B2C. Currently at Redfin, she’s led monetization strategies and scaled product-led growth efforts at HubSpot, where she learned that great product management isn’t just about building features—it’s about understanding people. Whether creating seamless customer experiences or developing top-notch PMs, Sophia is all about driving results through empathy, experimentation, and strategy.
THE INSIGHTS
1 - Sometimes, the smallest tweaks make the biggest impact
Sophia’s career has shown her that even the tiniest adjustments can deliver massive results. One of the most effective experiments she ran at HubSpot involved adding a simple modal during the free trial period, emphasizing what users would lose if they didn’t convert. This small tweak led to a double-digit increase in monetization and was one of the most impactful changes they made, despite its simplicity.
It was a perfect example of how understanding user psychology—like tapping into their fear of missing out (FOMO)—can drive significant business outcomes, even in B2B SaaS.
“One of my favorite learnings overall is sometimes the smallest changes can have the biggest impact. As basic as it sounds, one of my favorite insights is that FOMO is real. People are often more motivated by what they’re going to miss out on than by what they are going to get.”
2 - Experimentation: important, but not everything
Sophia believes that while experimentation is a valuable tool for product managers, it should never define the role. In her experience, experimentation is just one tool in the product manager’s toolkit and shouldn’t be relied upon 100% of the time. The key is knowing when to experiment and when to trust your intuition and the broader strategic direction.
This balanced approach to growth has helped her successfully lead teams and drive results, proving that great product management is about more than just running tests—it’s about making smart, informed decisions that align with larger business goals.
“Should all PMs be experimenting? I think the answer is no… There are some PMs that lean too much into experimentation, and it becomes the defining factor of what they do.”
3 - Don’t underestimate FOMO
It’s easy to think that fear of missing out is a tactic limited to consumer products, but Sophia’s experience shows otherwise. At HubSpot, the team discovered that emphasizing what users would lose at the end of their trial period—not just what they’d gain—had a powerful effect on conversions. This approach, typically seen in B2C, worked just as well in a B2B SaaS context.
Sophia recommends leveraging this psychological insight not only at the end of a trial but throughout the user journey, to remind customers of the value they stand to lose by not converting.
“One of the most impactful experiments we ever did… we introduced a modal that emphasized what you were going to lose out on at the end of the trial. Like, really leaned into the idea of FOMO.”
Sophia’s approach to growth boils down to this: focus on the small changes, leverage experimentation (without overdoing it), and never forget the power of human psychology. Whether it’s using FOMO to boost conversions or balancing intuition with data, her insights can help any product team unlock growth.
